Where Creatives and Culture Collide

A young Black male interested in being great. A hard working business, family, and Renaissance man who is looking to ensure his family is setup for the long run. I am very goal-oriented and I love to accomplish goals that most say I’m not able to.

With a stable job living in an urban area, what made you start selling bow ties?

I was looking for an opportunity to increase my finances. During my adolescent years, I had multiple jobs – cutting grass, selling items, etc. My then-girlfriend/partner and I had a few ideas that fell through, and after a while, we had an epiphany to sell bow ties. After that, we made a prototype and have been rolling ever since.

How has the process been as far as building from the ground up?

It’s been a good experience, very time consuming. We handle all aspects: building the site, marketing, creating the bow ties, and even handling our finances. When individuals commend us, they are not only commending the product, but are commending my wife and me personally, because we actually made the product ourselves. Seeing the bow ties go from cloth material to bow ties around the necks of men, women, children, and animals has been an awesome feeling.

Tell us about partnering with your then–girlfriend, now wife.

It’s been great. We dedicate a large amount of our time to this. When she’s at home, she’s working. It’s the same for me, too. Sometimes I get off the road at 6, and I may work on bow ties until 8. She may have to wake up in the morning and finish where I stopped, and then I will catch back up again after work. Working together is good, but making money together is better. I feel like it allows us to be tighter. Even when it’s confusing, we can always come back to home base for the greater good of the business.

Any advice for young entrepreneurs?

Think for yourself; don’t allow the opinions and thoughts of others to knock you down. Everyone has a million-dollar plan, you just have to plan and execute. Most people have problems executing due to external opinions. Too many times before, I have personally been thrown off my own rocker from asking closed-minded people’s opinion. That’s to everyone – young and old, Black and White.